ABSTRACT
This chapter uses and further develops evolutionary theories of technical and economic change in order to characterize the constitutive elements of an abstract, or ideal, System of Innovation (SI). Drawing from modern evolutionary economics, the concept of ‘evolution’ is used in the sense of a pattern, or principles of change (Saviotti and Metcalfe, 1991). Evolution, however, has to be specifically modified to discuss human behavior, here in relation to innovation processes. One reason for this approach is that the concept ‘system of innovation’ has too often been used as encompassing all aspects that might possibly influence innovation and economic growth; an explicit definition of elements of an SI in evolutionary terms thus leads to some needed clarification. This chapter therefore develops a conceptual and theoretical framework giving a general definition of an SI as well as prompts discussion about the implications of an evolutionary approach for additional theoretical and empirical work.
